A long time ago in ancient Persia, a radical sect of Shia Islamists created a special branch of militant warriors known as Hashashin to fight during the Crusades, and the concept of the modern day assassin was born. After nearly 200 years, the original assassins were completely destroyed by Mongol sieges, but their legacy remains intact in our folklore.

The original Alamut castle (top) was used in the setting of the first Assassin’s Creed game.

UbiSoft’s 2007 video game Assassin’s Creed was an attempt to recreate the tales of those ancient assassins with a modern twist. The video game launched one of the most successful game series of our generation, selling over 93 million copies worldwide, with nine main titles and 11 spin-offs. The chronicles of each game cover every ground and territory imaginable, from the Third Crusade to Russia’s October Revolution in the early 20th century.

With so much accomplished, where is there left to go for the huge UbiSoft franchise?

20th Century Fox answered that question with the filming of an Assassin’s Creed movie, to be released in theaters by the end of 2016. The film will star Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Apocalypse, Shame, Inglorious Basterds, Prometheus) as the main protagonist, and borrows from the franchise’s concept of ancestral genetic memory flashbacks through the use of the Animus machine.

When approached by IGN staff about the notorious curse on film adaptations of video games, Fassbender replied “It’s only a curse until somebody makes a good one, and then it’s a different story.”

“For me, I just found this universe to be fascinating and I thought there was so much in it that would lend itself so well to cinema experience,” the 39-year-old actor added.

Aymar Azaïzia, head of content for Assassin’s Creed over at UbiSoft, goes on to say that the film is “a brand new story, [with] new characters set in our universe”, and tweeted back in 2015 saying that the games and film share the same universe.

We share the same universe. Elements in the film have consequences as in our games, comics, and books -Aymar https://t.co/FSpepKARt7

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